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PHILADELPHIA : 

E. C. MARKLEY & SON, PEINTERS, 422 LIBRARY STREET. 

1874. 



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REPORT. 



Fhiladelphia, December S3, 1878. 

To the Hon. William S. Stokley, 

Mayor of the City of Philadelphia: 

Sir : — The Commissioners appointed by your honor to 
represent the City of Philadelphia at the Vienna Exposition, 
and to collect such information as might aid our municipal 
authorities in carrying out the objects of the Centennial Ex- 
position, to be held here in 1876, beg leave to report that 
we met in Vienna in July last, and presented our credentials 
to the Hon. W. H. Garrettson, United States Commissioner 
General, who received us very kindly, and offered us every 
assistance in his power to aid us in carrying out the objects 
of our mission, placing at our disposal an office in the United 
States Department of the Exposition Building, for the trans- 
action of the business of the Commission. He also presented 
us with a letter of introduction to the Baron Schwarz Sen- 
born, Director General of the Exposition, who expressed a 
lively interest in our Centennial, and a desire to do all in 
his power to promote its success. 



THE EXPOSITION BUILDING. 

The " Prater," in which the Exposition was held, is a 
public park, containing 900 acres, and the part of [it used 
for the purposes of the Exposition covered about 575 acres, 
of which 286 acres were enclosed with a close board fence, 
12 feet high, which cost about $140,500. The buildings 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSIOIT TO VIENNA. 



are located about half the distance from the Grand Hotel in 
Vienna that ours will be from the Continental Hotel in this 
city. 

The two principal steam railways connect near the build- 
ings on one side, and a line of street cars reach it from the 
other. Three main avenues, about 80 feet wide, each meet 
near the entrance of the park, and connect with streets run- 
ning into every part of the city. Mounted policemen are 
stationed at this point to control and direct the crowd of 
vehicles and pedestrians. The "Prater," which is the great 
place of resort for the Viennese, is a forest handsomely laid 
out with foot paths and carriage roads, and, without possess- 
ing the natural beauties of Fairmount, is a very attractive 
place of resort ; its well-kept drives are thronged every fine 
day with carriages of all kinds, and thousands of pedestrians 
find rest and refreshment under the shade of its fine old 
trees. 

No description can give an idea of the size and beauty 
of the Industrial Palace, with its magnificent dome — the 
largest ever constructed — and its elaborately ornamented 
facades and portals. It is built of bricks which are covered 
with German Portland cement of a soft neutral tint, in which 
the most exquisite " bass-reliefs" and statuary are modelled, 
having all the effect and beauty of '^ Caen" stone. 

The Industrial Palace is 3,000 feet long by 575 feet wide, 
costing three millions of dollars. It covers 35 acres; being 
equal to the space occupied by Broad street, extending from 
Race to Locust streets, and including one-half of the blocks 
west of Fifteenth street, and east to Thirteenth street — the 
public buildings at the intersection of Market, if circular, 
and 352 feet in diameter, would give an idea of the dome. 

The Machinery Hall is 2,620 feet long by 165 feet wide, 
and covers 9 acres — a line of shafting extends its whole 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



length, which is driven by steam engines placed outside the 
building — the entire cost, including the boilers, engines, and 
fixtures necessary to supply the power, being $776,000. 

The Agricultural Buildings cover 6 acres, and cost 
$335,000; and the Fine Art Gallery, with 30,800 superficial 
feet of wall space, cost $371,000. But these dry figures 
give a very feeble idea of the extent and magnificence of 
these buildings, nor can language describe the beauty of the 
untold collection of rare and wonderful goods collected in 
them from all parts of the world. Besides these immense 
structures there are several others of large size, together 
with about 140 buildings of various dimensions, representing 
palaces, pavilions, school houses, restaurants, dwelling houses 
of the different nationalities and of individual exhibitors, of 
various kinds. 

The cost and extent of the Vienna buildings are given 
with a view rather to avoid than to emulate them either in 
mao^nificence or ouilav ; and while we should endeavor to 
celebrate our nation's Centennial in a manner worthy of our 
nation's dignity, it is not necessary in order to do so that we 
should attempt to imitate the grandeur and dazzling beauty 
of the expositions of the old world,, but rather desire to 
appear for what we really are — a plain, practical, and com- 
mon sense people. The cost of our buildings should be kept 
within the lowest possible sum consistent with ample space, 
as they are only of a temporary character. It is useless for 
us to attempt competition with the old world in external 
architectural effect; rather should we look to the beauty 
and convenience of the interior arrangements of the building. 



THE HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT 

at Vienna consisted of an oblong frame work, covered with 
canvas, in which displays of fruits, plants, and flowers were 



6 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



held at stated intervals, but no attempt was made to have a 
grand display of ail the products of the orchard and garden 
at one time. In this particular, the French Exposition of 
1867 vastly excelled the Viennese, and with our varied pro- 
ducts of fruits and flowers we can excel any other country if 
the necessary encouragement is given to our people by the 
erection of suitable buildings to receive their products. 
These buildings should consist of a grand conservatory for 
the general display, and smaller houses for the growth of 
fruits and flowers, and should be of permanent character, 
built at the expense of the City, so as to remain after the 
close of the Exposition as a winter garden and conservatory 
for the use and enjoyment of our people for all time. 



MEMOEIAL HALL AND MUSEUM. 

One of the most beneficent results of former expositions 
has been the establishment of a memorial of the event by 
the erection of a suitable building to receive the mementos 
which would be offered at the close of the exposition, many 
of them of great historical interest, and all of them useful as 
the nucleus for the formation of a museum of art, science, 
and manufacture. Such was the origin of the South Ken- 
sington Museum in London, which was started at the close 
of the Exposition of 1851, in a small iron building, and which, 
by gradual accretions in the form of bequests, presents, and 
by purchase, has become one of the largest and most useful 
institutions in the world ; it now has a very extensive range 
of buildings, covering several acres, and containing a mag- 
nificent Collection of works of art and manufactures. Lectures 
are given by the best talent of the nation, and the institution 
supports no less than 940 schools, with about 38,833 pupils. 
In the construction of our Memorial Building this object 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



should be kept in view, the arrangements of its parts made 
to conform to the purposes of a museum, and no better 
memorial of our great Exposition could be devised than to 
hand down to posterity a collection of rare and beautiful 
articles which would doubtless be donated by exhibitors, who 
would be proud to become the patrons of an object which 
would perpetuate their names to posterity as public bene- 
factors. A part of this museum should be set apart for a 
collection of articles of dress, furniture, paintings, &c., illus- 
trating the olden times of this country. Many such inter- 
esting mementos of a by-gone age are now in the possession 
of our own people, who would doubtless deposit them as a 
loan for exhibition, if assurances could be given that they 
would be properly and safely cared for, and returned if re- 
quired. 

In the location of buildings of this character, in Europe, 
an eminence is always chosen, when it can be obtained, thereby 
increasing the effect of the structure, and of giving an ex- 
tended view from its top. 

It is fortunate for us that we have in our Park a site 
already prepared by nature for our Memorial Hall, and 
commanding a view almost equal to that from the '* Gloriette" 
at Vienna. George's Hill possesses all the requirements for 
a building of this character, as it not only commands a 
magnificent view' of the city and suburbs, but the whole of 
the Exposition Buildings could be seen from it at a glance. 
It should be approached by means of a wide avenue, pro- 
ceeding from the west end of the Industrial Palace — with 
easy rises in the form of terraces, ornamented with statues 
of the great and good men of our country. The sides of the 
avenues should be planted with flower beds and shrubbery, 
and if made brilliant with fountains and cascades, it would 
scarcely be surpassed by any similar location in the world. 



8 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



As the city authorities propose to furnish a portion of the 
funds necessary to erect this building, it is hoped that ample 
time may be given to build it in the most substantial manner, 
and for this reason it should not be considered as forming a 
necessary part of the Exposition Buildings. We most sin- 
cerely trust that no present expediency will be permitted to 
interfere with placing Memorial Hall in its proper location, 
as no present convenience for its use as a part of the Expo- 
sition can possibly compensate for the irreparable loss to all 
future generations, from having it placed elsewhere than on 
George's Hill. 



WATEE DEPARTMENT AND DRAINAGE. 



The 'supply of water at the Exposition was entirely inde- 
pendent of the city supply, three separate works being erected 
on the grounds for this purpose. 

1st. A fifty horse power steam engine and pumps forced 
water from wells into a stand pipe 138 feet high, with a 
tank at the top containing 8,000 cubic feet of water, as a 
supply for 100 fire plugs, 180 hydrants and water closets, 
and nine small fountains. Capacity from 16,000 to 18,000 
cubic feet of water per hour. 

2d. Two engines of fifty horse power e'ach, with pumps 
forcing water from a well to supply two large fountains at 
the south entrance, and requiring 6,000 cubic feet per hour 
each, the water being returned to the well after passing 
through the fountains. 

3d. Steam engine and pumps to draw water through iron 
pipes, driven through the gravel into the water level and 
collected into a reservoir 18 feet above the floor of the 
Machinery Hall, to supply the boilers, &c. 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



There were 11 miles of pipes laid, and the total capacity 
of all the works was equal to 7,180,400 gallons daily. 

The sewage and waste water was carried off through a 
brick culvert connected with the Danube canal. 



HOTELS. 

A very large increase in our hotel accommodations will 
be imperatively demanded, as a very bad impression will be 
formed of us if, after inviting the whole world to come and 
see us, we fail to provide proper accommodations for their 
reception and comfort. Ten new hotels of large size and 
with handsome accommodations were built in Vienna, for 
1873 ; besides about 45 hotels of various grades already in 
existence. It is said that accommodations were prepared 
for 60,000 strangers. 

There should be erected several large hotels, which would 
not exceed the after requirements of the city, and others of 
a temporary character; say an entire block of ground covered 
with buildings, except an open space in the centre as a court 
yard for light and ventilation — these buildings could after- 
wards be sub-divided into small dwelling-houses, and thus 
serve a useful purpose at the close of the Exposition, and 
if located near the Park, would make desirable summer 
residences. 

CONVENIENCE OF ACCESS, 

It was found in Vienna that notwithstanding the large 
increase in the means of conveyance to the Exposition, they 
were totally inadequate to accommodate the public on gala 
days, when from 100,000 to 139,000 persons desired to 
attend. Professor Blake, of the Centennial Commission, 
states, on the opening day at Vienna, a line of vehicles ex- 
tended from the gates of the Exposition Grounds to the 



10 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



Grand Hotel, about IJ- miles, and very many persons did 
not arrive until after the ceremonies had closed ; that a wise 
policy requires that access to the Exhibition should not only 
be cheap but inviting ; that no one will walk to see it a 
second time, as the fatigue of going through and examining 
a large exposition is sufficiently exhausting, and that persons 
should be set down at the doors of the building, and, if pos- 
sible, into the building itself. Much discomfort was experi- 
enced at Vienna, by passengers, from being landed from 
800 to 1,200 feet from the main doorway, and being compelled 
to walk this distance over rough gravelways, and unprotected 
from the heat of the sun or rain. 

A very valuable addition to our means of conveying per- 
sons direct to the Exposition Grounds, might be found by 
the use of the Connecting Railroad for way passengers, by 
having a siding constructed into a station adjoining the Ex- 
position Budding, thereby landing passengers under cover 
and without fatigue. At the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, 
near London, the cars pass directly into the building, the 
fare being included in the price of admission. 

Your Commission is indebted for the following admirable 
report on the municipal government of the City of Vienna, 
and the ten pertinent suggestions to our own government, 
to Gen. C. H. T. Collis and his associates, Messrs. Hill and 
Elkins, who were appointed a committee for this purpose, 
and who remained in Vienna nearly four weeks, during 
which time they were in constant communication with the 
heads of departments, whom they found universally courteous 
and disposed to furnish them with all the information which 
they might find useful. 

'^ The City of Vienna, though much smaller in its built 
up area, contains a population almost equal to that of the 
City of Philadelphia (700,000 being the present estimate), 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



11 



and its people are engaged in manufacturing pursuits similiar 
to those for which our own city is famous. It is considered 
one of the handsomest and most attractive of European 
cities ; though it labors under the disadvantage of innumerable 
narrow streets, with us more properly called alleyways, 
which are badly lighted and poorly cleansed. 

" The modern city, however, upon the construction and 
adornment of which millions have been lavished, both by 
the government and individual and corporate enterprise, is 
a model of stability, architectural grandeur and system, 
perhaps unexcelled in the world. This has been the work 
of the past ten years, and its success is alike attributable to 
the advanced views of the reigning Emperor, the generous 
encouragement of the government to private enterprise, and 
the study of similar improvements in other parts of Europe 
and in America. 

''The old City of Vienna was formerly surrounded by 
fortifications covering a vast extent of land, and resting at 
both flanks, upon the banks of the Danube Canal. Within 
the past few years these works have been abandoned, the 
ground levelled, graded, and drained, plotted out into rec- 
tangular blocks, with wide streets and avenues, many of the 
blocks being covered by imposing edifices and superb resi- 
dences, and many of them laid out as public parks or 'squares,' 
planted with shade trees and flower beds, and laid out with 
well kept walks and lawns. When this change, which was 
to produce such a marked effect upon the future prosperity 
of Vienna, was determined upon by the government, one of 
the earliest enactments in reference to the project, was the 
passage of an ordinance by the municipality, providing that 
ail buildings of a certain superior class which might be 
erected upon this new ground within a given limited time, 
should be exempt from municipal taxation for thirty years. 



12 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



The effect, as may be imagined, was magical. Thousands of 
workmen and millions of dollars were at once employed. 
Churches, hotels, opera houses, theatres, stores, club houses, 
and dwellings covered the entire space in a couple of years ; 
and the visitor who returned to Vienna after an absence of 
that period, instead of finding half a million of people crowded 
together in high narrow houses, built upon cramped and 
crooked lanes and alleys, found a city possessing the stable 
appearance of London, the beauty and brilliance of Paris, 
and the system and regularity of Philadelphia; and he well 
wondered how this had all been brouorht about. 

''It would be unfair, however, in us to report that there 
was not, and is not, serious opposition in Vienna to this system 
of exemption, VNrhich has not been confined exclusively to the 
improvements on the fortifications. The city, like the nation, 
is almost hopelessly in debt, and its revenues are sadly in need, 
of the aid which would be obtained from this source, but for 
the exemption law. On the other hand, it is contended, that 
after the lapse of a quarter of a century, the revenue from 
this locality will, in another quarter of a century, amount to 
sufficient to redeem the whole debt of the city ; and without 
espousing either side of the question, it may be safely said, 
that but for the exemption law, Vienna would not to-day 
hold the prominent position she occupies among European 
capitals. 

'' Many of the finest public buildings, hotels, and private 
residences, are of a delicate buff color, and have the appear- 
ance of cut stone, although they are generally built of bricks, 
afterwards covered with Portland cement, which admits of 
very elaborate ornamentation by means of statues, bass- 
reliefs, carved window and door heads and sills, cornices, 
etc., the work being done very rapidly and at a small 
expense. 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



13 



" These buildings having withstood for years the severe 
frosts of this climate, which is quite as cold in winter and as 
hot in summer as our own, there is no reason why this style 
of building should not be introduced here, and it might be very 
advantageously used in the construction of buildings of a 
temporary character in 1876, and it would relieve the 
monotony of our red bricks if introduced into the city 
generally. 

'^ When it was determined by the Austrian government 
to hold a World's Fair at the capital, one of the earliest sub- 
jects which demanded and received the study and attention 
of her officials was the condition of the City of Vienna and 
her surroundings. The site for the Exposition Buildings 
having been selected, a thorough inspection was made by a 
corps of army engineers, in conjunction w4th the engineers of 
the municipality, of the approaches to the city itself, and 
the avenues of travel from the city to the Exposition Grounds. 
The result of this examination was a report containing sug- 
gestions involving heavy expenditures for widening, draining, 
and repaving streets, constructing new and repairing old 
bridges, macadamizing public drives, planting young shade 
trees, beautifying public squares and parks, tearing down 
and building up again of public buildings, increasing the 
supply of gas and of lamps, and laying miles of additional 
gas and water pipes ; and nearly all the suggestions made 
were carried out. The authorities candidly admit that these 
improvements were upon a larger and more extravagant 
scale than was at all necessary for the occasion ; bat the 
'* Exposition fever" had possession of the people, and it was 
the favorable opportunity to procure money and moral sup- 
port for projects which at any other time would have been 
discouraged. 

''It was estimated that the expense of making these alter- 



14 PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 

ations and improvements, and sustaining tlie force of civil 
officers to be added to the ordinary force, would amount to 
several millions of dollars, and yet the city government was 
without a penny in its treasury which was not otherwise 
appropriated. At this juncture the General Government 
agreed to advance a sufficient amount to commence the im- 
provements, said advance to be reimbursed out of a loan 
thereafter to be created. Then arose the question of the 
best and surest method of negotiating for the large amount 
of money required. Austria had already exhausted, in 
this respect, the confidence of her neighbors, and her own 
capitalists could not be expected to come to her aid un- 
less at exorbitant rates of discount. Who ultimately sug- 
gested the successful plan we did not hear, but the govern- 
ment did raise $35,000,000 by issuing 1,500,000 certificates 
of loan, redeemable in fifty years, of 50 florins ($25) each, 
giving each contributor a chance in a lottery, to be drawn 
four times in each year, and disbursing $2,000,000 in 
prizes, the highest prize being $150,000; each contributor, 
whether successful in the lottery or not, being entitled to 
draw three and a half per cent, per annum upon his invest- 
ment. The desire of the people to make the Exposition a 
success, which was kept constantly alive by the press, public 
orators, and imperial decrees, coupled with the dazzling 
hope held out to them by the lottery, kept the city govern- 
ment amply supplied with funds for its extraordinary im- 
provement. 

" The only extra tax levied for Exposition purposes, was 
one which, we think, was exceedingly unwise, and resulted 
in serious injury to the Exposition enterprise. It was an 
increase in the rate of tax upon lodgers. With a city of so 
large a population, containing only 15,000 houses, making 
an average of fifty persons to a house, it can be imagined 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



15 



that the residents are nearly all lodgers, that is to say, they 
are tenants of 'apartments.' During the Exposition year 
the owners of these houses were taxed four per cent upon 
the rent paid by their tenants, the charge being based upon 
a return made by the landlord, certified to by all his lodgers, 
and the penalty for a fraudulent return being a fine of ten 
times the amount of the rent paid in the whole building. 
All this resulted in fixing extravagant rates, necessitating 
an advance in price of the commodities dealt in by the 
tenants themselves, thus making Vienna the dearest city in 
Europe during the year 1873, when, on the other hand, the 
government should have conduced to making it as attrac- 
tive in prices as in adornment. In ordinary times real estate 
is taxed for national revenue 16 per cent, of its literal rental 
valuation, and for municipal purposes, 17 per cent., making 
together 33 per cent.; but in time of war or flood, or to meet 
the expense of an extraordinary municipal improvement, 
such as that now going on in the change of the course of the 
Danube, an additional tax is levied. There is also an income 
tax, which applies to corporations as well as individuals, and 
an excise is levied on tea, horses, dogs, carriages, plate, 
jewelry, and precious stones. The tax on carriages is $13 
per annum. In other words, the Austrian people are, per- 
haps, more heavily taxed than any other people in Europe. 
The only real estate exempted from taxation are churches, 
public schools, municipal and government buildings, and 
ambassadors' and consuls' residences. 

'^ Having determined upon the public improvements to be 
made, and having matured plans to secure the necessary 
money therefor, the municipal government next turned its 
attention to ascertaining the capacity of the city for accom- 
modating visitors, and to the allotment of lodgings. Private 
enterprise was also at work as soon as the Exposition became 



16 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



an established fact, and sites were selected and the work 
commenced upon several grand hotels. In a few months the 
authorities were enabled to report that the hotels had a 
capacity for 10,000, private lodgings for 25,000, and the 
city government itself arranged to accommodate in its public 
buildings 2,000. They also reported that upon an emer- 
gency the city would be capable of providing from 50,000 to 
60,000 beds. This emergeyicy, however, never arose. The 
city government then embarked in an elaborate system of 
establishing 'bureaus of information for* lodgers,' etc., pre- 
pared daily lists of boarding and lodging houses, with their 
location, prices, and other data; these lists were printed and 
posted in railway and police stations, and other conspicuous 
places, and handed to visitors, upon their arrival, by ' com- 
missionaires' employed for that purpose ; but the authorities 
early discovered that they had wasted much time and money 
upon this useless organization, and soon abandoned it. The 
telegraph had enabled tourists and others to arrange before- 
hand for lodgings, without the aid of the cumbersome 'bureau 
of information.' 

'' The municipal government of Vienna undertook, also, to 
secure a wholesome and abundant supply of provisions during 
the Exposition season, and to this end dispatched police agents 
to the provinces to induce farmers to send their produce to 
Vienna in preference to other markets. A large corps of 
detectives was constantly employed upon the country roads 
and railway stations, and in the public markets, with power 
to examine the condition of food offered for sale, and to 
destroy such as did not pass inspection. Facilities on a 
grand scale were also extended to persons who were willing 
to run the risk of bringing large supplies to the city. For 
instance, one corporation received authority to erect booths 
in the public streets, free of charge for rent, conditioned that 




they would sell beef at seventeen cents per pound, while the 
regular retail price Vvas tAventy-two cents. This company 
bought up a large supply of cattle and secured a monopoly 
of the beef market ; still, like many other enterprises, based 
upon the belief that the city would be crowded with visitors, 
it was financially a failure. 

" Having thus ascertained what the authorities had done 
which was entirely new, and in addition to their regular 
system of government, we next examined their permanent 
departments, and inquired what they had each done to meet 
the requirements of this extraordinary occasion, and what 
additional regulations, if any, had been made in regard to 
the police, gas supply, water supply, public vehicles, fire 
department, drainage, local telegraph, etc. We will, in their 
order, report the result of our inquiries. 

POLICE. 

'' The police force of the city of Vienna is 1,600 privates, 
or one to every four hundred and thirty-seven souls. For the 
Exposition year, it was increased by the addition of 850 
privates. (For a similar purpose, the London police force 
was increased 1,400 men in 1851 ; and the Paris force 1,000, 
in 1867.) The appointments are all made by the mayor of 
the city, and continue during good behavior, or until the 
officer has served a certain number of years, when he be- 
comes a pensioner. The salaries per annum are as follows : 

1 Central Inspector, $1,225 

4 Chief Inspectors, each, - - - - - 1,000 

5 Ward Inspectors, at 750 

5 Ward Inspectors, at 650 

6 Ward Inspectors, at - - - - - 550 

44 Precinct Inspectors, 475 

92 Sergeants, at- - - - - -•- 350 

92 Sergeants, at 320 

1,229 Policemen, at 180 

1,240 Policemen, at 180 

2 



18 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



'' The annual cost of maintaining this force, including all 
expenses of every character, is $787,740. 

'Tor the purposes of the Exposition, the force, as already 
stated, was increased by the addition of 850 men, at an addi- 
tional cost for the season of $404,500. These men having much 
more arduous duty to perform than the ordinary patrol duty, 
received, an extra compensation of 40 cents per diem, paid 
out of the National Exposition fund. They were all picked 
men, promoted to this duty and extra compensation, as a 
reward for faithful service. The poHce force of Vienna, 
like that of other European cities, is composed principally 
of men who have seen active service in the army, and who 
wear upon their breasts the medals of merit bestowed upon 
them by the government. They are, as a rule, well made 
and well dressed, intelligent and courteous. 

[The Metropolitan Police force of London is 10,000 strong, 
the city police 800 strong ; being one policeman for every 371 
souls. The police force of Paris consists of a civil guard of 
4,000 gensdarmes, and a city police, called sergeants de ville, 
3,570 strong, being one to every 229 souls. As stated above, 
that of Vienna is 1,600, or one to every 437 souls. Yet, 
Philadelphia, with a population of 726,000, has a police 
force of only 1,000 men, or one to every 726 souls. And in 
this connection the fact sould be remembered that every 
European city has a large military garrison.] 

'' We found the police authorities of Vienna very familiar 
with the similar organizations in America, and they expressed 
their surprise at our ability to preserve life, property, and 
the public peace, with forces bearing so small a proportion to 
the population. 

''To show the necessity for a large increase in our police 
force in 1876, the following statement of the number of 
visitors to the various Expositions held heretofore, and which 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



19 



were kept open from five to six months, will be of interest at 
this time. 

1851, London, - - - - 6,039,195 visitors 
1855, Paris, - - - . 5,162,330 '' 
1862, London, - - - - 6,211,030 " 
1867, Paris, . - - - 10,151,728 , '^ 
1873, Vienna, - - - - 7,254,000 ' '' 
of which 2,000,000 were free, and 5,254,000 paid for ad- 
mission — the largest number present on any one day was 
139,073 persons on the closing day. It was open 186 days, 
the average daily attendance being 40,000 persons. It is 
customary at these large displays for the bulk of the visitors 
to spend the entire day at the Exposition, taking their meals 
at the restaurants — these will probably be two-thirds of the 
daily attendance, and will desire to enter the building within 
the hour after its opening and wish to return during the 
hour of its closing — this will require, on gala days at least, 
means of conveyance, and police regulations to convey, and 
keep in order, about 80,000 persons passing into and leaving 
the Exposition within an hour during the morning and 
afternoon. 



GAS. 

" Perhaps there is no one feature in which the cities of 
Europe excel our own more strikingly than in that of illumi- 
nation, and yet, strange to say, the gas is so inferior to ours 
in quality, and so offensive to the smell, that for indoor pur- 
poses candles or oil lamps are universally in use, and are 
even preferred by Americans long resident abroad, 

" Street lamps with us seem to have been instituted to 
serve as guide posts to the traveller between long intervals 
of space, whilst in Europe their object is to create an arti- 
ficial light by night, as closely approximating that which 



20 PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 

nature supplies by day, as it is possible for art to accomplish. 
These lamps are placed upon each side of the street, at an 
average interval of sixty feet. They are kept cleanly and 
in excellent repair, lighted at twilight, and kept burning all 
night. In Vienna the gas is at present supplied by a pri- 
vate corporation, which is under contract with the city to 
supply it with gas, pipes, fixtures, etc., until the year 1877. 
The cost to the city, under this contract, of a lamp burning 
all night, at the rate of five cubic feet per hour, is $33.07 
per annum. The average cost to the city is seventeen and 
a half cents per hundred English cubic feet. The rate to 
private and public householders and shopkeepers is about 
fifty per cent, higher. 

'^ The city authorities being of opinion, ho w^ever, that they 
can manufacture and supply gas at a lower rate, and in a 
more satisfactory manner than at present, are now erecting 
two extensive works, one at each end of the city, at a cost 
of $7,500,000, which amount has been appropriated for that 
purpose. 

WATER SUPPLY. 

" There are no water works of any description in Vienna, 
excepting a small reservoir in the northern part of the city, 
with a daily supply of 176,000 barrels. The population is 
dependent entirely for its supply of water for household 
purposes, upon private wells and pumps, the well water being 
very disagreeable to both taste and smell ; and for street 
watering purposes, upon a supply conducted by means of 
pipes tapped by plugs, from an inlet of the river Danube. 
From which it may be conjectured how unfavorably the home 
comforts of Vienna in this respect compare with those of our 
own city, in what we call ^ modern conveniences.' 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



21 



PUBLIC VEHICLES. 



" There are three classes of public vehicles in Vienna, viz. : 
street railways, omnibuses, and cabs (700 omnibuses and 
2,500 cabs ran to the Exposition). Passenger railways are 
located on the principle avenues of the new city, omnibuses 
are used through the narrow streets of the old city, and 
cabs are to be found at public stands in the vicinity of all the 
hotels, government buildings, and public places of amuse- 
ment. All these vehicles travel much more rapidly than 
with us ; the fare is considerably less, and the management 
much more perfect. The authorities were unanimously of 
opinion that the horse car, against the introduction of which 
there was at one time great and influential opposition, is 
really the only practicable means of transportation, and 
wherever it can be, it is being introduced. It was, we con- 
fess, rather humiliating to us, representing as we did an 
inventive nation, to find that the problem of protecting the 
proprietors of horse railways from the peculations of dis- 
honest employees, had been solved by the Viennese in a 
manner so simple, that if introduced here the Slawson box, 
Bidgway car, and the patent registering bell would be at 
once abandoned. The plan is simply this : Each conductor 
when he leaves the depot is supplied with a packet contain- 
ing, say 250 tickets, pasted together at the edges, and prin- 
ted on very thin tissue paper. The upper most ticket is 
numbered ' 1,' the next ' 2,' the next ' 3,' and so on up to 
250 ; for every fare or passage ticket handed to the conduc- 
tor, he gives" the passenger in exchange one of these slips 
(from which the corner is torn) bearing a serial number ; a 
censor, employed by the company, enters the car at short 
intervals and calls for and examines these checks, and a pas- 
senger not having one is required to pay his fare and receive 



22 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



one of these checks as a voucher, which slip the passenger 
tears up or throws away upon leaving- the car. At the enc? 
of the journey the conductor hands in the balan-ce of his 
package, and is charged with the number of missing slips. 
"We have the best authority for reporting that this method 
has been in practice for over two years, and has been found 
an absolutely successful protection against dishonest em- 
ployees, and the conductor is enabled to devote the greater 
part of his time to the comfort of the passengers, which with 
us is occupied in punching tickets and registering the fares. 

" Each cab driver carries a supply of tickets containing 
the Hariff of prices,' with which he is compelled to supply 
his passenger upon entering his cab ; they are required to 
pay an annual license, but during the Exposition season, in 
order to encourage an increase of these vehicles, an ordinance 
was passed permitting every person who paid a license for 
two cabs to run a third one without license, of which law 
the owners all availed themselves. A substantiated charge 
of imposition made against a cabman is punishable by fine, 
and the chief of police is invested with the powers of a 
magistrate for this purpose ; a second offence is brought to 
the attention of the mayor, who is clothed with the power of 
summarily revoking the license. These regulations are so 
rigidly enforced, that an overcharge by a cabman is a mat- 
ter of rare occurrence. 

'' Each policeman is supplied with a book containing the 
legal charges, and other laws and ordinances which he may 
be called upon to enforce ; a similar book placed in the hands 
of our policemen would aid them in the discharge of their 
duty, and enable them to see that stranger or citizen is not 
imposed upon. The telegraph was also brought into requisi- 
tion, to enable a person entering at one portal to call his 
carriage to meet him, for which purpose driver and passen- 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



23 



ger were farnislied witli tickets bearing corresponding num- 
bers. 

^' It may he well just here to m,ention, that among all the 
cities loe visited in Europe, we found none that afforded to 
the public the same facilities for easy conveyance from place to 
place, as is afforded in Philadelphia. In fact we were informed 
by a prominent railway official in Brussels, that all the pas- 
senger railway men of Europe were familiar with the ^splen- 
did net work of railways in Philadelphia ; ' and we found 
many persons who were advocating the laying of rails in 
every street, to facilitate ordinary travel, without regard to 
their use by passenger cars. 



FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

" Probably the memory of the oldest inhabitant does not 
carry him back to a period when the ' Fire Department' of 
Philadelphia was in as primitive a condition as that of the city 
of Vienna is to-day. It consists of 30 small hand engines, 
as many water-butts, three or four fire escapes, and 140 men. 
The fire alarm signal telegraph, tliough not unknown, is not 
established, because Cas was contended aorainst the introduc- 
tion of the system here) 'it ivould encourage false alarms.' 
Instead of it, there is a system of local telegraphy from fire 
station to station, erected at a cost of $130,000. The first 
information of a fire is generally obtained from the steeple 
of St. Stephen's Cathedral, from which point the news is 
telegraphed to the different stations, which are eight in 
number, and the engines are then drawn principally by man 
power to the scene of the fire. Arriving here, they are 
pumped by persons employed upon the spot from the crowd, 
or by a corps of street sweepers (lads of about 18 years of 
age), who, upon hearing an alarm, are required to cease 
work upon the streets and proceed to the fire. The water 



24 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



is procured from the nearest private wells, carried in buckets 
to the receiving butt, and from it pumped into the engine. 
Upon receiving information of a fire, a policeman is warranted 
in taking possession of any public or private vehicle, and 
proceeding in it to the nearest fire station. (All this, of 
course, would be obviated by our telegraph system.) 

^' We were favorably impressed with the dress and equip- 
ments of the firemen. In the hot season, the uniform con- 
sists of a suit of gray linen duck, and in winter, is somewhat 
similar to our own; each man carries some useful implement, 
so that when the fire is reached, axes, hooks, ropes, etc., are 
ready at hand. The fire escape is simple, exceedingly port- 
able, and in a city built like Vienna, often renders efficient 
service. It consists of a canvas pipe (so to speak), about 
three feet in diameter, and of sufficient length to be used 
from the roof of the loftiest houses in the city; at one end 
is a bar of oak about four feet in length, which serves to 
secure the top of the bag between the sills of the window. 
We were favored with an exhibition of the fire escape drill, 
which demonstrated that in two minutes and a half after 
the arrival of the apparatus upon the scene, a person could 
be rescued from the third story of a burning building. We 
were impressed also with the arrangements for supplying 
meals and lodgings to the firemen. All this was conducted 
with system, comfort, and economy. On the whole, however, 
we feel bound to report that no town of 10,000 inhabitants 
in the United States is so deficient in means to extinguish 
conflagrations as is the city of Vienna ; and what was most 
surprising, when we referred to the systems of our own 
cities, our steam engines, hose trucks, plugs, water supply, 
and telegraph signals, we found that we were imparting no 
news ; they had heard of it all, but still preferred their own, 
and satirically remarked that all these things had existed in 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



25 



'Chicago' and 'Boston.' Naturally, this set us to thinking, 
and from this exhibition of what we deemed absolute inca- 
pacity, we learned our most valuable lesson in Vienna. 
There exists an ordinance in that city, which requires that 
between every house there shall be a partition wall running 
from the foundation to the roof, and a battlement wall three 
feet above the roof, of sufficient thickness to prevent the 
communication of fire from house to house. Hence all fires 
are confined to one building, and the necessity of an expensive 
fire brigade is avoided. Thus could Chicago have been 
saved, from desolation, and thus could insurance companies 
and real estate owners, in all our cities, be spared the heavy 
losses that seem periodically to befall them. 

" The fire brigade at the Exposition Grounds was a sep- 
arate and distinct organization, under the control of the 
Director General, and in no way connected with that of the 
city, unless it should require reinforcement, in which case, 
of course, it could call upon the city government for assist- 
ance. The water at the Exposition, for fire purposes, was 
supplied from wells bored on the Exposition Grounds. As 
is well known, a very serious fire did occur amongst a 
quantity of rubbish from packing boxes, stored beneath the 
floor of the Exposition Building, but it was promptly ex- 
tinguished by the fire brigade, engineers, and police. 



STREET CLEANING. 

" The streets of the city proper, of Vienna, are cleaned 
by contract, by a corporation,. at a cost of $395,000 per 
annum, of which the passenger railways pay a portion, in 
proportion to the space, occupied by their tracks. The prin- 
cipal streets are required to be swept twice in each day, and 
watered in the summer season three times a day. 



26 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



'* In the outer wards of the city this work is performed by 
the municipal government itself, for which purpose it employs 
men, women, and boys (the women performing quite as much 
of the labor as the men) — and the streets are cleaned only 
twice in each week. 

'' The following additional items of information we may 
mention as not embraced under the foregoing heads. 

'' There were few, if any, pickpockets at the Exposition, 
such offenders being so summarily and severely dealt with 
in Vienna, that they have absolutely been driven away. If 
a professional thief is found, he is at once sent under guard 
outside the city, and, upon his reappearance, is committed 
to jail. 

'^ There is no restriction whatever upon the sale of beer 
and light wines, by any person who' desires to engage in the 
traffic ; but licenses to sell spirits are granted only to the 
most trustworthy persons, and are revocable by the mayor 
upon the substantiated complaint of any citizen that the 
regulations regarding its sale have been violated, and cannot 
he reissued to the offending "party. 

" Having thus given in as compendious a form as the sub- 
ject justified, an outline of the information gathered by us in 
Vienna from the city authorities, it will not be out of place 
to make a few suggestions to the municipal authorities of 
Philadelphia, which, we are of opinion, may be profitably 
followed. 

" In the first place it should be remembered that strangers 
are apt to base their opinions of the countries they visit upon 
what they see at their capitals. Paris is France — Vienna 
is Austria, — London is England. So in 1876 Philadelphia 
will be the United States, or at least ought to be, if we are 
true to ourselves. Our neighbor. New York, will no doubt 
be dressed in her holiday attire, and will do her best to make 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



27 



her city so attractive, that Philadelphia shall only be visited 
by foreigners for the purpose of examining the Exposition ; 
doubtless fast and chea'p excursion trains will be run daily 
from New York to Philadelphia, carrying passengers from 
Jersey City to the Exhibition Grounds, direct, in two hours, 
and conveying them back again in the evening at the same 
rate of speed. 

" Other roads having termini in Philadelphia, will offer 
the same inducements for daily visits. This has been the 
experience of London, Paris, and Vienna, and manifestly 
will be the case with us. 

*' What shall we do to induce visitors to spend days with us, 
instead of hours ? 

'' Your committee are of opinion, that this, after all, is the 
real problem for the municipal authorities to solve ; and for 
two great reasons, a patriotic and a selfish one. 

1. We desire that our own city shall be accepted as the 
type of American industry, enterprise, advancement, domestic 
comfort, and social refinement. 

2. We desire that our own people shall be benefited by the 
outlay of money always incident to an influx of sight seeing 
visitors. 

'•' The exhibition itself is in good hands, and will be made 
attractive if properly fostered by the city government. 
What then is there for the city government to do ? 

*' 1. Make Fair mount Park par excellence, the grandest 
park in the world. This is by no means a difficult under- 
taking. In the first place its natural beauties and advan- 
tages excel those of any other in existence (Phoenix Park, in 
Dublin, being the only one that compares with it in this 
respect). The Bois de Bologne in Paris, the Prater in 
Vienna, Hyde Park, Eegents Park, and Sydenham, in London, 



28 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



are all works exdunvely of art. Nowhere but in Philadel- 
phia do two such charming streams as the Schuylkill and 
Wissahickon meander through the public pleasure grounds, 
and thus contribute to the ingenuity of man. 

^' 2. Make the approaches to Fairmount Park attractive. 
Let your streets and avenues be well paved and curbed with 
granite (this pavement is now becoming universal in Europe), 
and where new streets are opened or widened, encourage the 
erection of handsome buildings thereon. 

'' 3. Put Broad street, from its northern to its southern 
terminus, into such superb condition as to lighting, paving, 
curbing, and planting of shade trees, that all the world may 
speak of it as a far more imposing avenue than the Champs 
Elysees in Paris, which at present stands unrivalled. 

" 4. Enable every person to travel to the Exposition Grounds 
from any part of the city, in a passenger railway car, at the 
minimum price charged by the passenger railway companies 
of any other city in the Union. Grive to these corporations 
every advantage of right of way, and afford them all reasonable 
facilities they may request ; hut insist upon a reduetion of 
the fare to five cents per trip. The argument that Philadel- 
phia companies cannot afford to carry passengers at New 
York rates, because they carry less passengers than are 
carried in New York, may be a sound one to day, but will 
not apply during the exposition months of 1876. If the 
railway companies do not acquiesce, then the city government 
should take possession of the roads, which they have the right 
to do, first compensating the stockholders as the law requires. 
To charge the stranger 40 per cent, more railway fare than 
he is charged in New York, would create an un&vorable 
impression against Philadelphia at the outset, and would be 
likely to lead to the inference that in every other respect our 
charges bore the same proportion of excess. 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



29 



'' 5. Hasten to completion all public works now in course 
of construction, such as the Public Building, South Street, 
Fairmount, and Girard Avenue Bridges, and place existing 
works in the best possible condition of repair. The public 
squares, which in most cases are a public disgrace, should 
demand the immediate attention of Councils, and the expense 
of placing them in a condition worthy of the coming great 
occasion should be included in next year's estimates of expen- 
ditures. It is idle to suppose that this work which 'inust be 
done sooner or later, can be deferred until 1875 or 1876. 
It must he commenced next spring and continued during the 
su7nm,er. Foliage, flower beds, grass plots, and walks are 
not the product of a single season. They require time, and 
that commodity is already too limited. Old Independence 
Hall will attract general attention, second only to the Ex- 
hibition itself, and the appointment of the excellent com- 
mittee now having in charge the work of restoration of that 
historic building^, is a commendable step in the rio;ht direc- 
tion. It is to be regretted, however, that the exigencies of 
the city government having prevented the removal of the 
modern wings and the new Quarter Sessions Court House, 
Independence Hall will not present the exact appearance it 
did a century ago. 

''6. Improve the footways and roadways of the streets 
not already laid with the most approved pavements. At all 
events let such streets as will be mostly travelled, present an 
appearance, in this respect, worthy a great people, so that it 
shall lie in no man's mouth to rebuke us with being behind 
the times. 

" 7. iRemove all such obstructions to the sidewalks as 
exist, where the buildings project beyond the new line of 
your principal thoroughfares, for example, on the south side 
of Chestnut street, at the corner of Tenth street. Get rid 



30 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



of unsightly telegraph poles, and prohibit the erection of 
awning wings. 

'• 8. If the money can be spared, erect a new bridge 
across the Schuylkill at Walnut street, obliging the con- 
tractor to complete it, ready for use, on the 1st of May, 
1876. - ' 

" 9. Eender every facility to individuals or corporations 
who desire to cater to the amusement of visitors, by laying 
out gardens for musical and other entertainments ; in other 
words, do everything in your power to provide rational and 
proper entertainments for your guests. 

''10. Above all else, take every precaution to make the 
sanitary condition of the city perfect. It matters not how 
grand may be the preparations for this great event, if a 
suspicion gets abroad that an epidemic exists, the enterprise 
will prove a failure. 

" These suggestions may be open to the objection that 
they involve a large expenditure of money, but the city 
authorities ought to remember that this not a mere display 
of firewoi'-ks, to gratify for the instant, and then pass away 
aaiong the clouds. These improvements are not for a day 
or for an hour; they are for the next and the next genera- 
tion of Philadelphians. 

" The advantages of the Exposition are not all to be reaped 
during the exhibition weeks of 1876. It is simply an epoch 
which will compel us to take such a position among the 
great cities of the world, as in the ordinary course of events 
we would not reach for a quarter of a century. This one 
hundredth anniversary will be to Philadelphia a new birth, 
a fresh start, in all her metropolitan Bittiie, The authorities 
will feel themselves stimulated by popular demand for a 
comprehensive^ system of improvement, which will be more 
potent even than the efforts of citizens' associations and 



PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 



31 



newspaper editorials have been in the past. It ought in fact 
to be a matter of congratulation to every public spirited 
citizen, that an event is approaching which will justify the 
city government in organizing a system of repair on a scale 
which they have not felt themselves at liberty to do in the 
past, and unless the government receives the cordial support 
of the people in these undertakings, it may be that some 
enterprising neighbor may filch from Philadelphia what 
properly belongs to her, and what she will acquire if she be 
only true to herself." 

We cannot close this report, without testifying to the uni- 
form consideration and attention shown us, not only by the 
local authorities of Vienna, but of other places we visited, 
and the universal interest manifested by all classes of persons 
we met with, to gain all the information possible about the 
Centennial Exposition in 1876 ; the manufacturers of Europe 
especially feel the importance of being properly represented 
on that occasion, and will largely avail themselves of this 
only opportunity which has ever occurred in this country, 
of exhibiting their goods in a new and very extensive 
market, and among a people who will doubtless become pur- 
chasers to a large extent. 

We were most cordially received by Honorable John Jay, 
our distinguished minister at Vienna, who expressed the 
greatest interest in the success of our mission, and desired 
his private secretary, Mr. Delaplaine, to introduce us to 
municipal officers, and to whom our thanks are especially 
due for much kind attention and valuable information. Our 
Consul, General Post, also very kindly offered us his services. 

During our stay in England we were tendered a public 
reception by the municipal authorities of JSTew-Castle-on-Tyne, 
who desired to be informed of everything appertaining to our 
Centennial Exposition, which was fully explained by Director 



\ 



32 PHILADELPHIA COMMISSION TO VIENNA. 

General A. T. Goshorn and Centennial Commissioner Lewis 
Wain Smith, Esq., who were present on the occasion, and 
were the recipients of marked attention. 

With the consent of your Honor, and in behalf of the city 
authorities, we presented the large map of the City of Phila- 
delphia, which was shown at the Exposition, to the Baron 
Schwarz Senborn, Director General, who accepted it with 
many thanks. It will be placed in the Athenseum and Me- 
chanics' Institute, founded by himself in Vienna. 

We also desire to express our thanks to P. Cunliffe Owen, 
Esq., the able representative of her Brittannic Majesty's Gov- 
ernment at the Vienna Exposition, for the many civilities he 
extended to us and for the valuable information he imparted, 
being the result of an experience gained in having repre- 
sented the British Government at every important Exposi- 
tion held since the one in London in 1851, and much of the 
admirable management of the English Department was due 
to his exertions. 

We are also indebted to the Hon. W. P. Blake, Centennial 
Commissioner^ Mr. Henry Pettit, Special Agent, and H. J. 
Schwartzman, Assistant Engineer of the Park Commission, for 
many civilities at Vienna and for much valuable information. 

Respectfully, your obedient servants, 

■ J. E. MITCHELL, President, 
JOHN E. GEAEFF, 
GEORGE DE B. KEIM, 
CHARLES S. MURPHY, 
JOHN L. HILL, 
J. E. GILLINGHAM,* 
WM. L. ELKINS, 
Wm. De La Baree, CHARLES H. T. COLLIS, Sec'y, 

Assistant Secretary. 

*Mr. J. E. Gillingham, who is still absent in Europe, has authorized his 
name to be attached hereto. 



